| LIFE-NET NEWS |
| by Ret Z. |
| Covering Poverty Widely in a Net of Many Voices |
| June 11, 2008 | No Profit; No Proceeds |
| Volume 12 Number 3 | All-Volunteer |
| "Give a family a fish, and they'll eat a meal; give them a Net, and they'll have fish for Life." |
| Harnessing Sunlight on the Cheap |
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A team of students, led by mechanical engineering graduate student Spencer Ahrens, has spent the last few months assembling a prototype for a concentrating solar power system they think could revolutionize the field. It's a 12-foot-square mirrored dish capable of concentrating sunlight by a factor of 1,000, built from simple, inexpensive industrial materials selected for price,
durability, and ease of assembly rather than for optimum performance.
Rather than aiming for a smooth parabolic surface that would bring the sunlight to a perfect focus, the dish is being made with 10-inch-wide by 12-foot-long strips of relatively low-cost, lightweight bathroom-type mirror glass. The frame is assembled from cheap aluminum tubing, with holes drilled in precise locations using a simple jig for alignment, so that the struts can be assembled into a framework that passively snaps into just the right curvature. The control mechanism, which allows the dish to track the sun automatically across the sky, is also remarkably simple: Photocells mounted on each side of the dish with opaque baffles, which cast a shadow on the cell when it drifts out of alignment, connect to a simple circuit that turns on small electric motors to push the dish back into the right position. "The technical challenge here is to make it simple," Ahrens explains. The team is keeping careful track of all the costs for parts and the time spent on assembly, to provide a baseline for figuring out what an eventual large-scale field of such dishes would cost. "We're using all commodity materials that are all in high production." A few large companies that have built such prototypes tend to "turn it into an ultimate high-tech, high-end project," says chemical engineering professor Jefferson Tester, who has been advising the group. "Then Spencer came along and said, 'We're going to fundamentally change this and make this an affordable technology for popular, widespread deployment.'" Ahrens said, "It's designed for long life -- we hope they will last more than 30 years with good maintenance -- and for indigenous manufacturing in the developing world with minimal tooling." Source: MIT |
| Severe School Budget Dilemmas in Kwazulu-Natal |
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2,000 schools in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa, have no electricity; 700 have no water. These figures were released at a workshop held by the KZN education department on Friday. Also on the backlog list at KZN schools are 10,000 classrooms, 17,000 toilets, and 700 fences. Although the department had originally said it would cost
R25-billion ($3.1 billion) to clear the backlogs, on Friday it emerged that if a shortage of 5,500 sports fields was included, it would in fact need about R30-billion.
Education MEC Ina Cronje told the education portfolio committee the department was trying to manage the backlogs using a computer system which identified the most needy schools. It would use a budget of just over R1.2-billion in the 2008-09 financial year to help these schools and feed money into other emergency areas. Cronje said in many cases the department was powerless. "On the issue of water, for example, the department is only required to provide the connections for water in a school," she said. "But, particularly in rural areas, there is no piped water and we cannot perform miracles. We have now also started sinking boreholes at schools." Cronje said a similar problem existed for electricity. "This is the grim reality we face. I get letters on a daily basis with requests for classrooms. How do you decide, with a R25-billion demand and R1.2-billion on hand, which schools should get toilets, or classrooms, or sports fields?" Source: The Mercury |
| Poll Shows Effects of Debt Stress on Health |
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The stress from deepening debt is becoming a major pain in the neck -- and the back and the head and the stomach -- for millions of Americans. When people are dealing with mountains of debt, they're much more likely to report health problems, too, according to an Associated Press-AOL Health poll. And it's not just little stuff; it means
ulcers, severe depression, even heart attacks.
Take Edward Driscoll, 38, of Braintree MA. He blames debt -- $10,000 worth -- for contributing to his ulcers and his wife Kimberly's panic attacks. "Just worrying, worrying, worrying, you know, where the next payment of this is going to come from." Although most people appear to be managing their debts all right, perhaps 10 million to 16 million are "suffering terribly due to their debts, and their health is likely to be negatively impacted," says Paul Lavrakas, a research psychologist and AP consultant who analyzed the results of the survey. Those are people who reported high levels of debt stress and suffered from at least three stress-related illnesses, he says. The finding is supported by medical research that has linked chronic stress to a wide range of ailments. People who reported high stress also were much more likely to have trouble concentrating and sleeping and were more prone to getting upset for no good reason. The current tough economic times and rising costs of living seem to be augmenting debt stress -- 14% higher this year than in 2004 -- according to an index tied to the AP-AOL survey. The survey found that upwardly mobile, middle-class families were among those who had the most debt stress. Others were women, couples with small children, low-income working families, Democrats, and those who graduated high school but haven't taken college courses. Those least likely to be stressed from debt include men, retirees, empty nesters, college graduates, and Republicans. Source: Associated Press |
| Child Poverty Levels Drop in Gloucester County |
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The number of Gloucester County children living below the poverty line dropped significantly between 2002 and 2006, according to New Jersey "Kids Count" data released in Trenton on June 2. The Association for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ), which compiles data on child social
well-being, indicated 7% of Gloucester County's under-18 population was living in poverty in 2006, or 4,671 people, compared to 11%, or 6,736, in 2002.
The highest rate of child poverty, according to the ACNJ, occurs in urban or rural areas. In Cumberland County, 21% of children were living below the poverty line in 2006; in Salem, 12%; and in Camden, 16%. The state average in 2006 was 12%. A low of 3% was recorded in Hunterdon County. The ACNJ released 2006 data in some areas and compared it to 2002 information. In other areas, it released 2004 data and compared it to 2000. The ACNJ noted that the state's high housing costs are affecting family stability. In Gloucester County, 42% of renters in 2006 spent more than 30% of their income on housing compared to 28% who did so in 2002. That leaves less money for well child care, food, and transportation. Source: Gloucester County Times |
| Indonesia's (Micro-Hydroelectric) Power Couple |
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Deep in the rural districts of Aceh, Indonesia, Iskandar Budisaroso and his team are building another micro-hydroelectric power plant. The area's huge water catchments will allow the plant to generate more than 400 kilowatts of green energy -- enough to supply electricity to more than 2,000 rural households, once it is ready in
September. Costing US$1 million -- all raised from international donors -- this plant is by far the biggest for Iskandar since he started building micro-hydroelectric power plants in Indonesia's poor rural areas more than 20 years ago.
"At that time, we didn't think about clean energy or green energy because I began this in the early 80s or the late 70s," said Iskandar. "The green energy issue at that time was not in place. It was still fossil fuel everywhere." He and his wife, Tri Mumpuni, are now hailed as the leading proponents of renewable energy in the country. Their efforts have been acknowledged by UN agencies and several environmental groups. So far, they have built more than 60 micro-hydroelectric power plants in Indonesia, aimed primarily at improving the lives of the poor. To ensure that the projects would succeed, they have rallied the beneficiaries to preserve the forest. "I told the community that if you want constant energy or electricity, you have to take care of the catchments area," said Tri Mumpuni. "How to preserve the catchments area? You cannot cut the trees in the catchments area, and you have to plant more trees." "After that," said Iskandar, "they made a regulation (that states) nobody can cut the trees 500 meters right and left of the stream. That is the consensus of the community, not forced by the government." The success of their micro-hydroelectric power plants is attracting interest from many developing countries. A 120-kilowatt project in Subang, West Java, has drawn a steady stream of international experts who study not only the technical aspects but also the social enterprise that is being developed to sustain each project. The electricity produced is sold to the state-owned power company, and the income is used to develop the village. For the past four years, more than 300,000 households have benefited from such schemes, which are mostly run by village cooperatives. Source: Channel NewsAsia |
| Assisted Living Centers Probed for Improper Evictions |
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Five assisted living complexes in Cumberland, Atlantic, and Cape May counties are under investigation after reports that senior citizens who qualify for Medicaid are being evicted before their benefits can pay for their stay. The Wisconsin-based company that owns and operates these facilities is violating its state license, says the Department of the Public Advocate.
New Jersey is one of a handful of states that require a portion of all assisted living facilities to be allocated for Medicaid eligible residents. The license in question requires that the company, Assisted Living Concepts, allow NJ residents who qualify for Medicaid to stay in its assisted living building. The complaint from the Office of the Public Advocate was originally issued in March. Since that time, four residents from Chapin House, an assisted living complex in Rio Grande, have reported being involuntarily discharged after having spent down their private funds, even though they qualified for Medicaid. Source: Atlantic City Press |
| '$100 Laptop' Gets Redesigned |
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Tossing aside its iconic green-and-white laptop with the distinctive antennae, One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is pursuing a smaller 2.0 version, scheduled for release in 2010, in which dual touch-screens will replace the keypad. The new version will have lower power consumption and a $75 price -- a figure that OLPC claims is achievable despite the fact that the current model, the XO, sells for nearly
double the sum mentioned in its "$100 laptop" moniker.
With its hinged dual display, the new version could be used as a book, as a laptop with a touch-screen keypad, or as one continuous display when folded flat. "The display is going to get better and better, and it's key to the next generation," said OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte at a launch event at the MIT Media Lab. The redesign is OLPC's latest effort to revitalize global adoption of its machines. Last month, OLPC announced that the current version will soon have the option of running on Microsoft Windows; previously, the machines only ran on the GNU/Linux operating system, plus a custom interface called Sugar that emphasizes collaboration among children. With the addition of Windows, OLPC hopes to boost sales to countries, such as Egypt, that already use Windows software in schools. Pixel Qi, the display-technology startup founded by former OLPC chief technology officer Mary Lou Jepsen, will collaborate in developing the new computer. The computer's smaller size will make it easier for a child to carry than the previous, larger version, Negroponte said. And despite the smaller size, the display will be larger -- when both screens are used -- than the one on the current version. Because the machine will have no keypad, there will be fewer mechanical parts to break. And whereas the current XO consumes only two to four watts (one-tenth of the amount consumed by a conventional laptop), the next-generation version will use as little as one watt -- a distinct advantage in off-the-grid villages that have to use solar chargers. Until the new machine comes online, the existing XO will still be sold. Only about 600,000 hard orders have come in -- a far cry from the 100 million that, two years ago, Negroponte said he was hoping to obtain by 2008. Source: MIT Technology Review |
| Sale Exploits What Departing Students Abandon |
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Overwhelming donations of unwanted furnishings and home goods by departing University of Delaware students prompted organizers of the second annual UDon't Need It? program to open their fundraising sale early. The sale, originally scheduled only for Saturday, commenced last Tuesday and ran until Saturday at the old Curtis Paper Mill site.
Last year's sale diverted 60 tons of waste from landfills, co-chair Carol Houck said. This year, the effort grew to include more volunteers and charities. "We're working with agencies to help families in need." Before a sale, organizers try to make donations to charities. Anything left over is then sold. The proceeds go to defraying program costs, which include planning, advertising, and paying for dumpsters to discard unusable donations. The program's origin is rooted in the frustration of Newark residents who were tired of seeing the clutter on their streets every year when students moved out, leaving everything they couldn't take home out on the curb. "If you tried to get through Newark," said resident Aleph Woolfolk, "it was chaos." The university and the city decided to take action. Said Houck, "Our goals are to reduce waste and redirect reusable items." Like a large, outdoor secondhand store, this year's sale had mattresses, toasters, compact refrigerators, and countless tables, desks, and sofas. A section for household items included flatware, cookware, and even a breadmaker. Students and other residents had also dropped off non-perishable food items. The local food bank collected many of them. Organizers are looking at finding a permanent home for the program. They said the old Paper Mill site will probably become unavailable due to redevelopment. They want to expand the program, too, "to keep things over the summer," said Houck. "That way, students can buy things they'll need when they begin to move in for school." Source: Wilmington News Journal |
| In Spite of Efforts, Many Child Soldiers Remain |
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"The international community's commitment to ending the global scourge of child soldiering cannot be doubted, but existing efforts are falling short," said Dr Victoria Forbes Adam, director of the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, which has issued its 2008 Child Soldiers
Global Report. "Laws, policies and practices must now be translated into real change to keep children out of armed conflict once and for all."
There have been positive developments over the past four years. The coalition's research shows that the number of armed conflicts in which children are involved is down from 27 in 2004 to 17 by the end of 2007. Tens of thousands of children have been released from armies and armed groups as long-running conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere have ended. But the report shows that tens of thousands of children remain in the ranks of non-state armed groups, and the record of governments is also little improved. "Existing strategies have not had the desired impact," said Forbes Adam. "If further progress is to be made, it must be recognized that child soldiers are not only an issue for child rights specialists but should be on the agendas of all those involved in conflict prevention and resolution, peace-building and development." Myanmar remained the most persistent government offender. Its armed forces, engaged in long-running counter-insurgency operations against a range of ethnic armed groups, still contained thousands of children, some as young as 11. Children were also used by government forces in Chad, D R Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, and Yemen. In at least 14 countries children have been recruited into auxiliary forces linked to national armies, local civilian defense groups created to support counter-insurgency operations, or by illegal militias and armed groups used as proxies by national armies. Children have also been used as spies. "Armed groups pose the greatest challenge," said Forbes Adam. "International laws have had limited impact in deterring child soldier use by armed groups. Many groups attach little value to international standards, and the need to build fighting strength overrides other considerations." The coalition's report also says that years of accumulated best practice on releasing children from fighting forces and assisting their rehabilitation and reintegration is being overlooked by those involved in designing and implementing disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) programs. Sustained funding for the long-term support of former child soldiers is also rarely available. Source: Human Rights Watch |
| Camden Children to Play Ball on White House Lawn |
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A team from the Cramer Hill Little League (CHLL) has been invited to play baseball on the lawn of the White House on June 30. "This provides some sign of hope for the children of Camden," said Camden city council president Angel Fuentes, who co-founded the league 17 years ago. "This speaks loud and clear where the city of Camden is going."
The Cramer Hill Red Sox, a 5- and 6-year-old girls and boys T-ball team, was chosen by Little League International, according to CHLL president Pete Perez. "We are thrilled and excited, not just for the [CHLL]," he said, "but for the community of Cramer Hill and the city of Camden." "Who in their lifetime gets to meet the president," he added, "especially where we are from?" The Red Sox will oppose a team from Puerto Rico. "There is excitement and joy to play a Little League team from Puerto Rico," said Fuentes. "We have a big [Puerto Rican] community here in Camden." The CHLL, a nonprofit organization, serves boys and girls ages 5 to 17. "We don't have anything but the fields we play on," Perez said. "All the history of the league, trophies and pictures, are kept at my house. The equipment is kept in a volunteer's shed." Source: Courier-Post |
| # LNN # Small # Hauls # |
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| Life-Net News Extras |
| Scientists Block Sexual Development of Malaria Parasite |
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Scientists have blocked the sexual development of the malaria parasite in the laboratory, opening the possibility of a drug that could sharply reduce the disease's spread, according to a new study.
When a mosquito bites an infected human, it sucks up the gametes, or sex cells, of the malaria parasite at the same time that it feasts on the blood. The sexual cycle of the Plasmodium falciparum parasite then continues inside the mosquito, producing cells that are transmitted in its saliva the next time the insect draws human blood with its needle-like proboscis. The gametes do not provoke malaria's terrible symptoms but settle in the liver where they eventually give rise to the parasite that does. A team of researchers at the London school of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine led by David Baker discovered an enzyme critical to the parasite's sex cycle, and developed a means for arresting it. "It acts as an inhibitor that stops the parasite from developing sexually," said Baker. "If we could develop a drug for patients, it would enable us to block malaria transmission from individual to individual via the species of mosquitoes that carry the disease." Baker said that the drug might also have a curative effect, though the study, published in the open-access online science journal PLoS Biology, only discusses the spread of the disease. Each day, some 3,000 young lives -- one every 30 seconds -- are snuffed out by malaria. The disease also saps more than a full percentage point from the annual economic growth of the most affected nations. Source: Agence France-Presse |
| Clayton Afterschool Program Simulates Adult Society |
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Eleven-year-old Dallas Carey is an assistant manager at a restaurant. Adashia Gomez, 11, is a banker. Luke Apana, 9, is a health inspector.
Together the Herma S Simmons Elementary School students, along with about 155 of their peers, run a miniature society as part of an after-school program.
The MicroSociety program, which launched in January, offers students enrolled in the Clayton NJ after-school program the opportunity to learn and practice the skills that will help them become successful adults. "I think it's a lot like how the real world works, but we have more fun," said fitness instructor Josie Rolon, 10. The Simmons school MicroSociety is run in conjunction with the national MicroSociety organization, New Jersey After 3 (NJA3), a nonprofit that facilitates after-school programming, and the Education Information and Resource Center (EIRC). The Simmons MicroSociety is the only program of its kind in the state. On Wednesday, also known as "open-market day," the students showed off their society to representatives of the state Department of Education, NJ After 3, EIRC, and MicroSociety. "I think the kids are learning without realizing it," said Willa Spicer, Deputy Commissioner for the DOE. "It's wonderful to watch them learn like that, because that's the difference between schooling and education." All throughout the bustling society, students were actively engaged in their job. At the Card Shop, Cheyenne Scott, 7, said the business sold 70 items at $2 a pop: "People kept coming over here with money, and that's how we made the big bucks." Site Coordinator Mario Ayala said the program not only touches on a number of educational disciplines, such as math, but also cultivates an entrepreneurial attitude among the students and improves social skills. "You get a lot of things from the students that you wouldn't expect unless you put them in this environment. And when you do, they just thrive." For example, he said the students have decided to open a movie theater in 2009. The students decided it would be best to have two theaters, one to show movies for the younger students and another to show movies for the older ones. Said Ayala, "The intriguing thing about this is they know exactly what they want." Source: Gloucester County Times |
| Existence of Isolated Tribe Revealed in Brazil |
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A new isolated tribe has been discovered in the Amazon, proving the existence of groups in the area believed to have never had contact with the outside world. Brazil's National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) released photos of the indigenous tribe late last month. Some of the pictures taken from an airplane show men covered in red paint with bows and arrows pointed at the camera. Others show parts of six large huts and tribe members standing painted in black.
"The most important aspect of this new discovery is that we are looking at a group that is much more established," said anthropologist Lindomar Padilha. "The photographs show them already living in villages, which is very interesting." Jose Carlos dos Reis Meirelles heads the FUNAI environmental protection department that took the pictures: "We have been watching this isolated indigenous community for at least 20 years. The idea in revealing the photos was to raise the alarm over the risk threatening them." More than 100 uncontacted tribes are believed to still exist today, with most of them in Brazil and Peru. But Meirelles says illegal logging has pushed the tribes further away from their habitat and may soon put them in danger: "Peruvian authorities recently said this indigenous community doesn't exist. Well, they do exist and they are facing an enormous risk." Survival International, a British group that lobbies for indigenous people worldwide, estimates 500 isolated people are living on the Brazilian border. Stephen Corry, the group's director, said, "The world needs to wake up to this and ensure that their territory is protected in accordance with international law. Otherwise, they will soon be made extinct." The people are also at risk of disease their bodies have no defense over, including less serious illnesses like chicken pox and the common cold. Source: CBN News |
| Unions Say Privatizing Prisons Leads to Escapes |
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"Every year in New Jersey, hundreds of escaped state prisoners are roaming the streets and neighborhoods they previously victimized, committing new crimes," according to a new radio campaign unleased by state corrections officers. The ad focuses on what union leaders describe as a gradual but clear move toward the privatization of prisons.
Unions representing the state's sergeants and captains bankrolled the $25,000 campaign, which so far is limited to radio. It targets NJ's privately run halfway houses, which saw their number of escapes nearly double from 2006 to 2007, according to the state Department of Corrections. It also criticizes state plans for a privately run Trenton facility to house violent sex offenders and for the creation of residential assessment centers to evaluate parole offenders rather than simply sending them back to prison. A recent Pew Center on the States report found one of every 100 Americans is imprisoned, a rate far higher than that of other developed countries. Last month, the Drug Policy Alliance, a critic of government drug policies, released a study finding that NJ spent $331 million a year jailing nonviolent drug offenders. The State Parole Board pushed the idea of residential assessment centers in part because of statistics like that, Parole Board spokesman Neal Buccino said. The facilities would effectively serve as triage units, where parole officers could determine how best to deal with people who violate their parole after gaining early release from prison. The target, Buccino said, is parole violators who don't break any laws but simply break the terms of their parole in what are called "technical violations." For example, perhaps they missed an appointment with a parole officer or failed a drug test. Supporters think these triage units could help ex-convicts re-enter society, find jobs, and deal with addiction problems. They would spend 14 to 30 days in these facilities while parole staff evaluate to determine how best to deal with them, whether by imprisonment, increased supervision, or simply a chastisement. The corrections unions, however, are wary of the trend toward privatization. The failure of halfway houses, despite their entrenched nature, particularly raises their ire. In 2006, 126 inmates walked away from halfway houses, residential facilities that house offenders who work part time and who are nearing the end of their prison terms. In 2007, the number of inmates who walked away jumped to 247, according to DOC spokeswoman Deirdre Fedkenheuer. In comparison, state prisons saw less than 10 escapes in each of the last two years. Source: Atlantic City Press |
| Employment Agency Workers Arrested for Fraud |
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Three employees of a recruitment agency in the Philippines were arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation after they allegedly defrauded about 300 prospective overseas workers of P20 million ($451,000) for non-existent jobs in Spain. Rommel Busto, 39, liaison officer of Ren-Glo Enterprises, was apprehended by bureau agents at his house in Western Bicutan, Taguig City. Albert Apostadero, 39, and Rizalina Tabajonda, 46, both agents of the recruitment agency, were earlier arrested in separate operations by the NBI.
Apostadero was arrested after he agreed to meet his "chatmate," an undercover agent of the NBI. He was nabbed in a condominium unit in Quezon City. Tabajonda was turned over to the Morong Municipal Jail following her arrest on March 29 in Cainta, Rizal province. The NBI, meanwhile, hunted for the recruitment firm’s owners, Renato Tomas and his wife Gloria. About a hundred complainants who went to the NBI claimed the suspects had promised them jobs as hotel chambermaids and room boys. They added that the suspects had demanded and received from them P70,000 to P90,000 each as placement fees. The NBI Special Task Force said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) had canceled the agency’s license last year. A POEA certification also showed that the three suspects were not authorized to recruit workers for overseas employment. The three suspects had several outstanding arrest warrants estafa and syndicated illegal recruitment cases. Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer |
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